Consequences
by InferNafee
Summary: Like every flutter of a butterflies wings had the potential to create a tornado, every decision of man had a consequence. And when this decisions lead to the potential of a war, the consequences were something to look for. A group was selected from the past and the present, their roles being the biggest. Can they change their future for the better? Or are they all doomed?
1. 0

A family of three sat down for dinner one night. The father had no interest in his dinner for the moment, his mind only thinking about the future of his family and how his decision will change its destiny. As he lifted his fork to eat a slice of his food, time seemed to have come to a slow halt. In a bright flash mother and father disappeared, leaving the son alone, frozen in time.

A few hundred miles away from that house, in a mansion stood four people discussing heated on some important matter. Time seemed to have come to a slow halt too for them. The four disappeared in a burst of white light leaving behind an empty room.

A few years down the line. A family of four sat down to eat their dinner. The mother talking animatedly with the son with a smile while the father talked in the same manner with the daughter. Siblings laughed, shared a glance before switching talking partners. Before they could dig in to their dinner, time came to a slow halt and with a burst of light the four vanished.

The same happened to a house with two members in it. The husband sat glumly while the wife looked depressed at her food. The husband was taken away by the light. The wife was frozen in time, staring at the food.

In an underground facility situated in an abandoned warehouse, three people were discussing their next step to help their kind. Around them were more people, some were tending to their wounds while others had an angry expression on their face. Time slowed to a halt around them and the three people talking with one another were taken away.

In an alley, a girl with purple hair and green eyes were running away. She was doing something with her hands while being chased by men. Suddenly a burst of light and she disappeared. The men behind her frozen in time, suspended in mid step.

A crash and a whole team fell from the ceiling into the middle of the room. They all made a similar sound, that of a groan.

"Get off me!" the blonde teen shouted pushing off her brother.

"Brother. You are crushing my ribs" another man said with a cough.

"Ah sorry!" the man got up and help both him and the woman beside him up.

"Where are we?" the stern looking man asked as he got to his feet. The rest of those who were still on the ground followed him up.

" _Welcome all to my little movie theater kind of place"_ a deep voice echoed through the room. Those gathered looked around to find the source before they were forced to close their eyes because of a sudden burst of bright light.

When the light faded, a man stood at the center of the room. He wore a white suit and white pants. His crimson eyes looked at them all as a smile formed over his lips. But what really caught their attention were the wings on his back.

" _Enough of staring"_ he coughed and the rest looked away from the wings. _"The reason why you are all here, which Im sure you're all wondering is because I summoned you here"_

He raised a hand as the stern looking man opened his mouth. _"This place is a room outside time and space, a creation of my own. As to how I brought you here, with my powers of course. None of your powers will work here as one of the laws of this place is no violence. So any weapon you might have had have been taken away. The reason why I have brought you here is to show you your future"_

"Why? Why us? And why do we need to watch the future" the girl with the purple hair asked.

The winged man smiled at her. _"It's because you lot take a bunch of shitty decisions and now the future is in shambles. So you watch. You learn. You fix"_ he said.

None of them said anything, processing the words the man just said.

" _Now let's introduce ourselves and take a seat to see what happens to you guys"_ the stepped back.

"My name is Otto Strucker and this is my wife Ellen Strucker" the old fashioned couple introduced themselves.

The other family man looked at the couple in shock. No wonder they looked familiar to him. He shook his head and got out of his trance and turned to the group. "Reed Strucker. These are my wife Caitlin Strucker and children Andy and Lauren" he introduced them.

Otto and Ellen looked at their future son, daughter in law and grandchildren in shock. But it wasn't a bad one. They were happy that reed had settled down.

"Jace Turner. I'm an agent at Sentinal Sevices" the bald dark skinned man introduced himself.

"Marcos Diaz. And this is John Proudstar and Lorna Dane. We're mutants from the underground" the possible leader of the trio said.

Agent Turner's hands automatically went to his waist. But then he remembered the laws. And also that he had left it back at his place. He let his hand drop but his eyes were narrowed at them.

"Clarice Ferguson" the girl with the purple hair nodded.

"I'm Charles Xavier and these are my friends Erik Lehnsherr, Raven Wagner and Hank McCoy" Charles said.

"Professor X!?" John exclaimed.

"I beg your pardon?" Charles looked at him in confusion.

"Nothing" Marcos said quickly and pulled John away. "I think they are from before the X-men" he whispered to John who frowned.

Charles, Raven and Hank looked at the duo. Eric though was looking at the girl Lorna. There was something about her he couldn't quite put his fingers on.

" _Now then"_ the man clapped and seats appeared behind them and a screen fell from the roof. _"Take a seat and it shall begin!"_ he grinned and disappeared in a flash of white light.

The group sat down on the chairs. The Struckers sat together, Ellen talking to her grandchildren while Otto looked at Reed in confusion. Reed sat stiffly beside his wife, stealing glances at his father from time to time.

The mutants sat on the other side of those seats. The trio sat beside each other, keeping Lorna in between them. Erik sat beside Marcos and after him were Charles, Raven and Hank. On the other side of John sat Clarice.

Agent Turner sat on the seat which divided the two groups from one another.

The screen fizzled before it came to life, the lights in the room dimming.


	2. 1

_**The episode unfolds with**_ _ **Atlanta police**_ _ **in pursuit of a**_ _ **mutant**_ _ **fugitive suspect, revealed to be**_ _ **Clarice F**_ _ **erguson, on the run.**_

"Why were you on the run? Did you do something?" Andy asked the purple haired girl.

Clarice looked at the boy and shrugged. "I'm a mutant. That's reason enough to get arrested" she mumbled.

Charles and Erik hearing this shared a glance with one another.

 _ **She gets cornered, causing her to rely on her mutant ability to get her to safety, she creates a portal and transports herself to an abandoned workshop.**_

"That's kinda cool" Andy told his sister.

Lauren nodded her head gently and watched the screen with a small frown. She was more afraid of how everyone would react when her powers would be revealed. Which she was sure was going to happen.

 _ **However, the police aren't the only ones looking for her.**_ _ **Thunderbird**_ _ **,**_ _ **Eclipse**_ _ **, and**_ _ **Polaris**_ _ **search the town.**_

"Hey it's us" Lorna said with a small smile.

"We must be here for Clarice" John muttered.

Clarice looked at John with a slight frown. Why would they be looking for her? The she remembered who they were and sighed.

 _ **Thunderbird, using his tracking abilities, concludes that Clarice must not be far from their position. They enter the building, finding her inside as she's changing her clothes. Panicking, she throws whatever is in front of her, but Eclipse manages dodges them. They try to gain her trust by explaining that they are mutants just like her, Polaris demonstrates her control over magnetism by yanking the steel stapler out of Blink's hand.**_

"Magnetism?" Charles asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Why?" Lorna looked at the young professor.

Charles looked at Erik who was now looking at Lorna with a soft gaze. They had both realized who she was.

 _ **Eclipse and Polaris introduce themselves as Marcos and Lorna. Marcos tries to assure her that they have been in the same place as her, but if she goes with them, they will get her a place to stay. However, their introductory meeting is disrupted as the police have managed to track them down at the abandoned workshop they are hiding in. They all join Thunderbird at the main room. After killing the lights, Polaris and Thunderbird take cover on the wall, observing the police as they pull up. Polaris steps out in front of the window and gestures her hands in a downward motion, which sends out a wave of energy so powerful that it takes out the police cruisers.**_

"That was a nice move you pulled there" Eric complimented the woman.

Lorna just nodded her thanks and looked at the man with her head slightly tilted in thought.

 _ **That's when the police open fire. As she takes cover behind the wall, Polaris instructs Thunderbird to find them a way out while she holds off law enforcement.**_

"Alone? You can't handle them all" Raven stated calmly. She too had figured out the girl's parentage.

Lorna just shrugged. She didn't need to take them down. She just needed to hold them back.

 _ **Polaris uses her abilities once more to disable the cops and halt the firing bullets. With the police applying pressure, Eclipse comes to her rescue, emitting a blinding light from his hands, which in return both stun the police and provides Polaris with the opportunity to escape.**_

"As if I would leave you alone" Marcos said when Lorna looked at him.

Lorna rolled her eyes but took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

 _ **As Polaris, Eclipse, Thunderbird, and Blink exit the building and make their way back to the getaway vehicle, despite their efforts to take down the police by using their mutant abilities, a cop appears behind them and shoots Eclipse in the hand. This sends Polaris into a fury of blind rage. She attacks the shooting officer with great force, using her abilities to slam him against a dumpster multiple times.**_

"Temper temper" John shook his head with a small smile.

Lorna rolled her eyes at the muscled man and swatted him on the arm.

 _ **Distracted by her rage, other police officers appear beside her and taser her. Eclipse tries to reach her but is held back by Thunderbird, knowing he is unable to do anything to prevent it. All of them, except Polaris, manage to escape in the vehicle.**_

Eric gritted his teeth in rage. When he gets his hands on them he would make sure they all pay for it with their lives.

Charles put a hand on Eric's shoulder and shook his head. "It's the future. They can change it" he motioned to the three who were looked calmly at the screen.

Eric took a deep breath. It would not do to get angry here.

Turner smiled a little at seeing another mutant off the streets.

 _ **At**_ _ **Belleview Acres High School**_ _ **, 14 hours later,**_ _ **Andy Strucker**_ _ **waits in the hallway as his parents sit in the principal's office, demanding that the school take action to prevent their son, Andy, from future bullying incidents, as it is affecting his academic performance as well as communication between him and his parents.**_

"I hate bullies" Hank grumbled softly. Being a small lanky kid himself, he was very familiar with bullies.

Andy shrunk in his seat a little at the scene while his sister comforted him by rubbing his back gently.

 _ **Reed's authoritative attitude seems to help get the point across, as the principal complies with the demands, however, Reed is called away to work and is revealed to be a prosecutor on the mutant task force at the local detention center,**_ _ **Garland Detention Center**_ _ **.**_

The mutants except the shocked X men gave Reed a dirty look.

Otto blinked at the screen. If Reed was a prosecutor for the mutants, then meant Reed was not a mutant anymore. That meant his serum worked.

"Detention Center!?" Eric exploded. "Mutants in detention center!? What is this!? World War 2!?" he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Eric calm down" Charles said slowly as he rose.

"Calm down!? Charles these humans are treating us like outcasts! This is not how we saw the future for mutant kind! I told you peace with the humans was a foolish thing!" he said in anger.

"Eric" Charles said calmly sitting the man down. "We are being shown the future for a reason. I am sure these humans would have their eyes opened up by the end of it and there will be peace" he explained to his friend calmly.

"I doubt it Charles" Eric growled. This was not what he wanted for his people. Especially his children.

Turner looked at the two mutants with a frown. Why would he think about world war2? This was nothing like that.

 _ **At the**_ _ **Strucker Home**_ _ **, in the North Atlantic Suburbs,**_ _ **Lauren Strucker**_ _ **face times with her boyfriend, Jack, as she asks his opinion on which outfit to pick for the school dance. After she's chosen her outfit, she joins her family at the dinner table.**_ _ **Caitlin**_ _ **asks Andy how his day was at school, to which he talks about a debate they had in social studies about the law they want to make to test people with the X-gene and monitor them.**_

The faces of Eric and Raven went deadly neutral. They did not like the sound of monitoring.

 _ **He mentions someone in the class who freaked out, Andy's guess is that his cousin is a "mutie", to which his sister, Lauren, mentions how racist that sounds, as "mutie" is a derogatory term for referring to mutants.**_

"Yes it is. Don't say that" Lorna said in a low growl.

Andy shivered at the tone and nodded furiously. That was not a lady to anger.

 _ **They get into an argument, before their mother interjects, complaining about how they can never have a normal conversation.**_

"That kind of is a normal conversation now" Lauren pointed out to her mom who sighed.

 _ **In the mutant wing of the Garland Detention Center, Polaris is now in her cell, imprisoned within a smaller transparent and plastic box within the cell. Reed Strucker enters the cell to inform her that she is being charged with the attempted murder of two officers as well as the illegal use of her abilities.**_

"Illegal use of powers. Typical of humans to ban something they have no control over" Eric growled.

"So you think that it's okay to let mutants use their powers to do anything they want?" Turner asked heatedly.

"Mutants if they suppress their powers go out of control and cause more trouble than anything" Charles explained to the agent whose frown deepened.

"He forgot to mention that some mutants can even die if they suppress their powers all the time and not let out a small burst of them" Hank added and that wiped the frown off his face.

Agent looked down at his hands which were clenched. If what they say is true then. He shook his head. He did not need to think along those lines right now.

 _ **Reed offers her a reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation, but Lorna claims to have nothing to offer. She was walking through the rain when an officer randomly fired at her, or so her story went. However, with documented information pertaining to Lorna, and her affiliation to the**_ _ **Mutant Underground**_ _ **, Reed knows better than to take Lorna for her word. She and her associates have aided and abetted hundreds if not thousands of mutant fugitives.**_

"Fugitives" Eric muttered with a scowl.

 _ **Reed opens the door to the smaller cell and walks toward her, he stands face-to-face with Lorna. Taking into consideration the severity of her charges, Reed claims that he is merely trying to help her. He reiterates her charges of attempted murder. With her ability to control magnetism, Lorna lightly pulls on the screws embedded in Reed's knee after an old sports injury. If she wants to, she could tear out the screws, and show him what attempted murder truly looks like. All this to prove a point; that if she wanted those officers dead, they would be.**_

"She is right you know. All of us hold a lot back when we go to rescue our fellow innocent mutants" Marcos pointed out.

Reed frowned and nodded. He knew this all but there was a due process to things that should be followed.

 _ **There is a factor that Lorna is not aware of though. Reed pulls her medical exam from a folder. What Lorna reads shakes her to her core. She had a big decision to make. What first stuns her, quickly escalates into a rage, Lorna lashes out, and in a great display of power, shatters the lights, breaks a window, and cracks her cell.**_

"Powerful" Hank whistled.

Eric looked at screen, a small proud smile on his lips.

 _ **Lauren, prepared for the school dance, goes to the garage and gets inside the car to find Andy sitting on the passenger seat beside her. She refuses to take him with her because he has neglected to tell his parents about attending the party and has chosen, instead, to sneak out. Andy reassures her that his disappearance won't trace back to her as he could make an excuse that he just went to Ian's.**_

"The bullies would be there and no one would notice them" Caitlin pointed out to her son.

"Mom I can't stay at home all the time for that. I need to step up to them!" Andy defended with a serious expression.

Caitlin sighed. She just wanted her little boy to be safe.

 _ **Despite being bullied at school, he still wants to attend the school dance because he feels like he's being raised like a veal, cooped up in the house. After a lot of effort on his part, Lauren reluctantly decides to take him with her. They arrive at the school dance and they separate as Lauren goes off with**_ _ **Jack**_ _ **, while Andy sits in the bleachers as he observes everyone dancing. After a while, Andy notices a girl standing not so far from him. He starts advancing toward her, asking her for a dance, but his voice is drowned out by her friends who, she's been waiting for this whole time, greet her.**_

Reed chuckles slightly and pats his son on the back. "It's okay kid. You'll get your chance" he said reassuringly.

Andy groaned and buried his face in his hands. This was way too embarrassing.

 _ **Andy is disappointed by this, however, there are more pressing matters—Andy's bullies have just arrived at the dance and they waste no time dragging him into the locker rooms ready to resume their torments on Andy.**_

Both Reed and Caitlin looked at the screen with a neutral expression. But both their eyes held severe anger.

 _ **They proceeded to mock Andy for telling his parents about them as he's restrained by the bullies under scalding hot water from the showers.**_

"That is too much!" Hank shouted in disbelief and anger.

Andy sank into his seat, hands tucked in the pockets of his hoodie.

Reed and Caitlin was beyond angry at this point. "Once we get out of here I'll make sure those brats get what they deserve" Reed growled out in anger. Caitlin moved to her son's side and pulled his into a hug.

Lauren was speechless at the behavior of the boys.

Otto and Ellen had their lips pursed in anger. This was not okay behavior.

 _ **Andy's physical and emotional pain explodes into something that's out of his control, manifesting powers of his own. Tiles start to crack, pipes burst, and soon the walls of the gymnasium are collapsing, prompting students at the dance to run out of the school.**_

The room went absolutely silent. No angry growling or glaring.

Caitlin looked at the shocked boy in her arms. As did Reed, Otto and Ellen.

"Do you think?" Eric looked at Charles who was frowning at the screen. "Fenris" Raven nodded her head at her two friends.

The underground mutants looked just as shocked as the boy's parents. But they were shocked at the display of power than anything else.

"Andy?" Caitlin asked shakily. Andy snapped out of his trance and looked at his mother in fear. "Mom I swear I didn't do that on purpose. I didn't know" he said shakily. Caitlin bit her lips and pulled him back into a hug.

Otto looked down at his hands and gritted his teeth. He had failed.

 _ **Lauren refuses to evacuate, going the opposite direction as the moving crowd, in an attempt to find her brother. Earlier while she was dancing, she saw her brother being dragged into the locker room, so she moves in that direction. When she's almost hit by a piece of the ceiling, she instinctively creates force fields that serve as a**_ _ **protective shield**_ _ **in the air, revealing herself to have mutant abilities in the public eye as well.**_

"Lauren?" Reed asked in shock.

"I've had them for a while" Lauren mumbled shrinking into herself.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Caitlin asked her daughter.

Lauren said nothing as she shrunk into herself. She looked at her hand feeling a poke and saw Andy giving her hand a gentle pat. She took her brother's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Reed and Caitlin shared a glance. They decided to talk about this later.

Otto looked at the screen. The boy had power to destroy things and the girl had the power to join them if e was right. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. It was them all over again. He just hoped these two didn't follow in their footprints.

 _ **When she finally reaches inside the locker, she rushes toward Andy, who is caught in a cycle of uncontrolled screaming. Lauren breaks him out of it, then they make their way out of the school. At the**_ _ **Mutant Underground Headquarters**_ _ **, Clarice settles in as she talks with**_ _ **Sage**_ _ **. Sage asks her if she should contact anyone, perhaps family, to which Clarice says it is complicated. Sage then informs her that she would stay with them at the headquarters until they figure out where they will relocate her. Meanwhile, John patches up Marcos' arm, then they argue about whether or not to try to rescue Lorna. Marcos wants nothing more than to get a team together, but John is not convinced they could take on hundreds of cops when they were nearly subdued by merely a dozen of them at the abandoned workshop. They can't take that risk, not right now. When Sage comes in to alert them of a news story, where the news anchor reports that two mutants, Andy and Lauren Strucker, have committed an act of terrorism at the local high school, Marcos says his plans of rescuing Lorna will have to wait.**_

"Help them" Lorna said taking Marcos' hand in hers. She knew the man. He would feel guilty for not rescuing her earlier. She knew she would be saved. She could wait for a bit.

Marcos looked at their joined hands and gave her hand a kiss and held it firmly in his.

 _ **Back at the Strucker house, Andy tries to explain to his mother and sister how he was able to destroy the gym. Caitlin can't believe that he is a mutant. She wonders why he didn't get any warning, to which Lauren explains that that's how the powers first appear, in moments of stress and danger. Confused at her daughter's expertness about mutants, Caitlin asks how she possesses such knowledge, apart from their father talking of mutants because of his job as a mutant prosecutor. Turns out, Lauren has a secret of her own, Lauren manifests powers of her own, powers that she's been hiding for three years.**_

"Three years" Caitlin mumbled. She then remembered the night back from the church. "That was you?" she asked and Lauren nodded her head. The woman sighed and gently rubbed her daughter's head.

 _ **It all started when they were coming back from the concert at church that night, and the truck almost hit them, she managed to create transparent force fields that pushed the car away. Upon realizing that her daughter has had this for three years, she feels sad that Lauren didn't confide in her all these years. Caitlin shows her naivité by failing to understand why Lauren would keep her powers a secret from the father who imprisons mutants for a living.**_

"As if telling him would make things better" Eric scoffed.

"He's her father! He wouldn't do anything to harm her!" Caitlin defended her husband.

"So can you guarantee that he would have stood up for her and not treated her like he treats those other mutants?" Raven asked.

Caitlin turned to her husband to tell him to tell them that he wouldn't. But the look on his face made her stumble in her approach. "Reed?" she asked but the man did not answer.

Eric and Raven turned away from the couple. "Humans" they thought in unison.

 _ **There is a knock at their door. Caitlin opens the door to find Agent**_ _ **Jace Turner**_ _ **and**_ _ **Agent Weeks**_ _ **of the**_ _ **Sentinel Services**_ _ **. They are there to take Andy and Lauren into custody, informing Caitlin if she isn't already aware of the recent incident that occurred at school which has left the gymnasium destroyed. Knowing that her children are in trouble, Caitlin is reluctant to allow them into her home. She informs them that her husband is a prosecutor, which they already are aware of. Under the amended Patriot Act, it is Sentinel Services' duty to secure the safety of the community.**_

"Do you see Charles? Their community does not include us!" Eric pointed out to his friend.

Charles frowned deeply and watched the screen. He did not give Eric an answer but his expression told it all.

"You still think peace is possible" Eric muttered in disbelief, anger and slight disgust. He looked away from the man and glared at the screen.

 _ **He attempts to reason with Caitlin as he too is a parent, but this is as much for Andy and Lauren's protection as it was for everyone else's. Agent Turner and Agent Weeks bypass Caitlin, knocking her down in the process, which angers Andy, causing the entire house to shake. Jace Turner urges Andy to calm down, and to come with him for questioning but as Andy grows angrier, the shaking intensifies, forcing the Agents to draw their weapons. However, Lauren obstructs their path with her force fields, which in return gives Caitlin, Andy, and Lauren enough time to escape in the family's van.**_

"They're out" Ellen muttered in relief. To her seeing her future grandchildren and daughter safe was all that mattered to her. The fact that they were mutants didn't bother her much.

 _ **After their daring escape, Caitlin stops at a payphone to inform Reed of recent developments. She tells him that while the kids are safe, they weren't attacked by mutants, they**_ _ **are**_ _ **the mutants. In the city outskirts of Atlanta, Reed meets his family in a diner and begins his professional evaluation of the situation. Caitlin reminds him that it isn't a deposition and that a legal understanding of the matter will do little to help against Sentinel Services. When she mentions the Sentinel Services' part in all of this, he finally understands the life and death reality of the situation.**_

"Finally" Hank muttered. He did not like the approach the man had started off with his own children. They were children for god's sake!

 _ **Sentinel Services is a federal agency with little oversight that has "disappeared" mutant suspects in the past and he won't allow that to happen to his children.**_

"Disappeared!?" Marcos exclaimed. Lorna was still a prisoner after all.

"We don't know the details. All we are told is that they are taken for rehabilitation" Turner defended himself when the glares of the mutants were turned to him.

Eric was very close to physically harming that Sentinal Sevices agent. The only thing holding him back was Raven and Charles. "Not the time" Raven whispered forcefully.

 _ **The only reason they got away is that Sentinel Services didn't have enough time to put a full team together. Soon, the pressure will pick up its pace, and they need to find someplace safe, not, as Caitlin suggests, that they stay with her sister, Jenny in Phoenix, but Reed is thinking more along the lines of someplace with less strict mutant laws, like Mexico. Reed promises to figure something out, as Lauren leans on him for comfort, Andy pulling his mother in for comfort. The next day, Agent Turner arrives at the**_ _ **Central Courthouse Building**_ _ **, and requests access to Mr. Strucker's office, as well as his computer and emails. Mr. Strucker's boss informs him that there may be confidential information regarding cases. A court order is being processed should they encounter any resistance. They pass by Carla, Reed's associate, as she looks concerned to hear of this recent development. Mr Strucker's boss also appears surprised to learn that Reed would run after being a part of the office for fifteen years, and the mutant task force for five years. In Agent Turner's experience, perspectives changes when it's your own kid.**_

"It does" Reed mumbled as he put an arm around Lauren while Caitlin was still hugging Andy.

 _ **Outside the building, Carla receives a call from Reed, who, unbeknownst to her has a visual on her as he is hiding around the corner of a building across from her. He asks her to get him a copy of the case file for the Mutant Network investigation. He reasons that can use that to contact them to find a way to get his family out of the country. Carla is afraid that this will trace back to her, as she could possibly get disbarred, or arrested even. Reed begs her to help him because these are his children that are in trouble. Carla is defeated by this, choosing to help him.**_

Reed smiled at that. He knew he could count on her.

 _ **At the**_ _ **Caravan Motel**_ _ **, Andy and Lauren discuss their powers and Andy's frustration with his inability to control them. Lauren tells Andy that with time he will learn to control them and demonstrates her ability by knocking popcorn loose from a vending machine and encouraging Andy to do the same. When he attempts this, initially having some control, his powers escalate when his emotions from the incident at the dance take over, resulting in the machine being destroyed.**_

"Your powers are quite destructive. It will take you time, effort and a lot of training to get them under control" Charles said with a smile.

"But they can be controlled right?" Andy asked the older man.

Charles nodded his head and Andy smiled.

 _ **Meanwhile, at the Mutant Underground Headquarters, Marcos tries to find a way to rescue Lorna, when Clarice enters the room. She wants to thank him for rescuing her, knowing he lost Lorna in the process. Marcos shrugs it off, however, he is interested in her mutant abilities, he thinks Blink's ability to create portals could help with rescuing Lorna. All he needs is for her to get him inside the prison, but it is beyond Blink's abilities as she explains that in order to teleport someone, she would've had to have been in the place before. Marcos doesn't understand, so Blink illustrates it by using a toy to teleport it through the roof, a place she hasn't seen before. When it comes out of the roof, it is cut in half. Their conversation is interrupted when Marcos receives a call from Reed Strucker. Reed proposes a deal to Marcos: He explains that he is the prosecutor with the city, involved in building a case against Marcos and his mutant associates for the district's attorney office, so if he helps his family across the border, he would be able to sort out Lorna's release. Reed has more shocking news, Lorna is pregnant. If Marcos wasn't inclined to helping him before, he certainly is now.**_

"Pregnant!?" John said in shock.

Marcos looked at Lorna who was looking at her belly, a hand over it. "A baby?" He whispered.

"I guess" Lorna just shrugged. Not sure how to react.

The couple look at each other for a moment before they hug.

Eric looked at his future daughter and couldn't help but smile. At least it was a mutant she was having the baby with.

 _ **At the Caravan Motel, Reed and Caitlin stand by the window as the kids sleep, or at least one of them sleeps. Caitlin jokes that he may be a mutant as well,**_

Otto flinched at that.

 _ **nut with a snoring ability. Later in the evening, Reed will be meeting with Eclipse. Caitlin wonders how great their chances are in making it out. They don't have many options, Reed replies. Caitlin is aware that he is doing the best he could. She'd take one option over none. She then asks Reed if he knows how rough it is on the mutant fugitives who are constantly on the run from Sentinel Services. Reed knows it isn't easy,**_

"Understatement" Clarice muttered rubbing her arm. She can still remember that day she went back home and what happened after.

 _ **but they both remember how it is with the mutants fighting amongst each other, and innocent people getting hurt in the crossfire. Before long, it is time to move again as Reed spots a Sentinel Services drone circling the area. While it can't see them from inside the room, it knows the license plate of their vehicle, and it won't be long before Sentinel Services agents are at their door if they don't leave now. With that in mind, they wake the kids, and exit the motel, stealing a truck as Lauren creates force fields to protect them from the car owner so they have enough time to steal it and drive away.**_

"This feels wrong" Caitlin muttered.

"It was necessary though" Reed looked at his wife who nodded at him.

 _ **As planned, Marcos meets up with Reed at a local bar for mutants called**_ _ **Tex's Lounge**_ _ **. When Reed arrives at the bar, Marcos asks about how Lorna and the baby are doing. When he asks Reed which detention center is being kept at, Reed isn't inclined to tell him, but after he uses his power to scare him, Reed spills which center it is.**_

"That was way too easy" Lorna snorted.

Reed threw the mutant a scowl.

 _ **Reed offers to help Lorna in exchange for assisting his family. Marcos agrees because Lorna's big secret is that she is pregnant, but he says that Reed will have to stay behind to make sure the other man holds up his end of their bargain. He gives Reed an address, where he and his family are supposed to meet him to plan their escape to Mexico.**_

"I'll be fine" Reed said seeing the look on Caitlin's face.

The woman turned to her husband and sighed. Her world got turned upside down in mere moments. And she had no clue how she could cope with it. "Your family is still there" a voice came from inside Caitlin's head. She frowned then looked at her family. "I'll make it" she thought with a smile.

 _ **Meanwhile, back at the headquarters, Clarice informs John about how she overheard Marcos' conversation on the phone earlier, and how he was meeting up with a man about helping his family, alone. John wonders why she didn't tell him this before, to which she reasons that Marcos told her not to, but after an hour has passed and he hasn't yet returned, trusting her judgment to do right by Lorna, she decides to tell him. John then tells her that they have to go find him. Clarice says that they won't be able to find him because they don't know where he went, to which John reassures her that if he could find her, he can also track Marcos down.**_

"Big talk" Clarice stated. But even she knew that the mutant was a first class tracker. He found her even after she had teleported away from where they had sensed her!

 _ **With everything going as planned, the Struckers meet up with Eclipse in an abandoned warehouse facility. From there, Eclipse would get them food, water, and blankets before heading down to the border, though Caitlin refuses to go any further until she knows all of what he has planned for her family. Eclipse explains that he knows people down by the border with a specific set of skills, that'll allow them to get people under, over, or even through the wall.**_

"Drug dealers" Lorna guessed.

"If it helped me to get you back safely" Marcos said looking into her eyes.

Lorna scowled and swatted him on the face. "Do not go back there" she said with a glare.

Marcos sighed but did not say anything.

 _ **Once that is done, they'll get them new IDs. There are also churches of people who will help them. Unfortunately, their plans never initiate as doesn't take long before they are surrounded by Sentinel Services, and ordered to the ground.**_

"Shit!" John swore summing up almost all of their thoughts. But he had a feeling that he was nearby. How he knew? He could sense it.

 _ **Fortunately for them, Blink and Thunderbird have successfully tracked them all down, Eclipse and the Struckers take their cue from Thunderbird to run in the direction Blink and Thunderbird came through. The seven of them sprint through the warehouse, as Sentinel Services unleash their mutant-hunting robots, the**_ _ **Sentinels**_ _ **, which Thunderbird sees coming ahead of time due to his**_ _ **foresight**_ _ **.**_

"What are those?" Charles narrowed his eyes.

"Sentinels. They can scan out mutants and hunt them down. It's a bitch taking them down" Lorna muttered.

Eric's eyes narrowed dangerously at the screen.

 _ **When they are cornered, Eclipse and Lauren are able to keep them behind using their mutant abilities while Blink creates a portal for them all to retreat through that leads to the Mutant Underground Headquarters. Everyone, except Andy and Reed, goes through the portal. With Andy hyper-focused on destroying the sentinels, he telepathically forces them to explode before joining the others through the portal.**_

"You were saying?" Andy asked the lady with a smile.

Lorna rolled her eyes with a smirk. The kid was really strong.

 _ **Blink can't hold the portal open for much longer, but while Reed is waiting for his son to enter the portal, he gets shot before he gets the chance to enter the portal after Andy, as Blink has to shut the portal because it is too for much her to bear. Reed is left for capture on the other side.**_

"No no no no no" Caitlin kept muttering. Reed got up and went to her side, putting his arms around her. "I'll be okay" he whispered into her ears. "I'm not a mutant. They won't hurt me" he consoled her. Caitlin leaned into her husband's touch. But the worry did not leave her.


	3. 2

_**One year ago,**_ _ **Reed**_ _ **took**_ _ **Caitlin**_ _ **,**_ _ **Lauren**_ _ **,**_ _ **Andy**_ _ **, and his mother**_ _ **Ellen**_ _ **out to the bowling alley for a family gathering.**_

"I remember that" Lauren muttered under her breath. And from the looks of the other three that were present there, so did they. None of them had a pleasant expression.

 _ **He recommended that Caitlin reconsider her professional bowling career after witnessing her poor attempt at a strike. Reed then looked to his mother, who shared no desire in partaking in the family's activity. She informed Reed that the love of bowling was one of many things that she and his father did not have in common. Their fun family outing quickly turned bad as they were interrupted by a dispute occurring one lane over between a father and his mutant daughter, and the obnoxious group of people that were teasing the daughter because of her mutation which resembled a vibrating motion.**_

"Typical of humans to do that to us" Eric muttered out loud. Andy looked over at the older man and couldn't help but agree with his sentiments.

 _ **Reed attempted to ignore the dispute turning his head, but as the belittling and arguing continued between the two parties, the young girl briefly lost control of her abilities, and while no serious damage was done, Reed decided it was time to intervene in the conflict. He advised the father to leave the bowling alley with his child before the situation got any worse because damaging property with a mutant ability is a serious crime.**_

"So damaging property the human way is not a crime?" Raven asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course it isn't! I just meant that they should leave before anymore problems occur" Reed explained himself.

"You could have not mentioned the ability part and just said it like it was. But instead of the reason of the problem and the way you say it, you go for the mutant while it was clearly the humans who were at fault here. And they think it's us who are the danger here" Eric sneered.

The man raised his hand to silence Reed who looked like he was going to reply, an angered expression on his face. The talk had ended between them for now.

 _ **Back in present day, after jumping through the portal**_ _ **Clarice**_ _ **created, Andy, Caitlin, and Lauren are panicking about leaving Reed behind. As**_ _ **Marcos**_ _ **tends to Clarice,**_ _ **John**_ _ **explains that they are in the**_ _ **Mutant Underground**_ _ **'s**_ _ **headquarters**_ _ **. As much as he wants to help the Struckers with going back to retrieve Reed, the chances of them being captured, or worse, killed, is greater.**_

"He's right" Reed spoke with his family. He was still slightly overwhelmed by the small confrontation he had with Eric.

Caitlin took Reed's hand into hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. She would be there for her husband no matter what happens.

 _ **What is within their ability, however, is tending to Clarice, who has overexerted her power to save them from the**_ _ **Sentinel Services**_ _ **, and ended up collapsing, thus shutting the portal she created, forcing Reed to remain on the other side.**_

"Shit" Clarice muttered under her breathe. She was not used to holding open a portal for so long, usually her being the only one who travelled through them.

"You'll get better with practice" Charles said with a smile. He might not have his powers at the moment but he could still feel the girl's discomfort.

Clarice looked over at the man and just nodded with a frown. She hated it when people easily read her.

 _ **Meanwhile, Clarice falls in and out consciousness. So Marcos holds up her head up as he tries to get her to respond. She appears to be suffering from some kind of reaction to holding her portal open for such an extensive amount of time and traveling as far as they did. He puts her arm around him and leads her out of the room, but they don't make it far as Clarice is barely able to stand. Marcos then places her on a bench by the stairs. The Struckers panicking about going back for Reed doesn't seem to be helping, as Marcos tells Andy that his father plans to help him get his girlfriend, Lorna, out of jail, but as much as he wants Reed there, they can't think of that right now.**_

"I hate making the tough calls" Marcos muttered with a groan. His instincts were yelling at him to go after Reed he was sure about that. He was the only link to freeing Lorna after all.

A slight nudge on his side made him looked over at the green haired girl. When did her hair become green?

"The underground comes first" Lorna said firmly, her eyes reflecting the resolve she held.

Marcos slumped slightly but nodded nonetheless.

 _ **Back at the abandoned warehouse, after an unsuccessful attempt to apprehend the Struckers,**_ _ **Agent Turner**_ _ **announces to both Sentinel Services Agents and**_ _ **Atlanta PD**_ _ **that in addition to the Struckers, they are also searching for three mutant suspects, two unidentified males and one female prison escapee.**_

"And we're on the radar" John sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Technically we were always on the radar" Marcos added.

"But now they have faces to put on those radar" John rubbed his face in frustration.

 _ **All are to be considered extremely dangerous as they believe that the suspects are affiliated with the national network in the business of helping persecuted mutant fugitives escape government custody.**_

"Persecuted for what exactly?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Illegal usage of their abilities" Jace said firmly.

"And what's the legal way to use their powers?" Raven asked. After a moment of silence had passed, she leant back into her chair, a neutral expression on her face.

"Basically you're under arrest and jailed if you're not human" Eric sighed. He was so close to just ending all of humanity for their stupidity in not accepting mutants for what they are and not what the humans want them to be.

"That is not the case!" Jace said with a growl. They were not putting the mutants behind bars for no reason at all. They were dangerous.

"And what would the cause be?" Eric raised an eyebrow. He would really love to hear this.

"July fifteenth" the agent grounded out, hands curling into fists.

"Anyone know what that date signifies?" Hank asked looking around.

"There was a terror attack on that day. Many people died. It was a mutant" Reed answered the blue man. Wait when did he get blue?

"So you're putting mutants through hell for the action of one idiot?" Raven asked with wide eyed anger.

"Maybe we should do the same to them. For what Hitler did" Eric added with a crazed smile.

The room went dead silent. No one knew what to say to that. Slowly Charles put a hand on Eric's shoulder. The man shrugged the hand off and laid back in his chair.

Reed and Jace looked down at their hands in deep thought. Was what they were doing really for the better? Or were they dooming an entire species for the action of a few.

 _ **They are to search every square inch of the surrounding area, behind, doors, walls, and even underwater. Just because something seemed impossible, doesn't mean it didn't happen. With**_ _ **mutants**_ _ **, anything is possible. He then introduces himself to Reed Strucker as he's carried away on a stretcher, informing Reed that the reason for his inability to move is due to the fact that he was hit with an immobilization round, and that once the effects wear off in a few hours, they will discuss his family. Meanwhile, at**_ _ **Lakewood County Jail**_ _ **,**_ _ **Lorna**_ _ **is transported to her cell. She attempts to bend the bars and free herself, but in doing so triggers her**_ _ **inhibitor collar**_ _ **which shocks her and sends her falling to the ground in pain while the inmates laugh hysterically.**_

Eric's eyes widened and he started to shake in fury.

"Eric" Charles warned but couldn't react in time. Eric had jumped out of his seat and was on Jace in an instant.

"How fucking dare you!?" he roared punching the man on the face furiously. "How fucking dare you treat my child like an animal! You wanted human? Have some human!" he growled choking the man, continuously hitting his head on the ground.

The rest were too shocked to react at first. But when they did, they physically pulled the man back who was surprisingly able to hold the agent down and beat him black and blue. Charles pushed Eric back in his seat and gave him a furious look.

"Not. A. Word" Eric growled at the man and just rubbed his face. It had been a while since he had to resort to physical confrontation.

Lorna watched the agent being hauled back to his seat by Reed and Otto, he looked like he had a broken nose and his head was bleeding. Though she did feel no remorse for that.

Then suddenly what Eric said clicked and her head snapped towards the man who was still hiding his face in his hands. "Lorna?" Marcos asked looking at his girlfriend with worry. "Did you hear him?" she said in a whisper still looking at Eric. Marcos squinted at her before he blinked in surprise. "The things starting. Let's talk to him after this" he said and patted her on the hand.

Lorna turned her attention away from the man and back to the screen. Though her mind was no longer on the show.

 _ **A fellow inmate then warns her that the guards are the least of her concerns though Lorna explains that she has no intentions on staying for long. When asked if she had a crew, Lorna replies that she was on her own though she did however have backup on the outside. Back at Headquarters, John and**_ _ **Sonya**_ _ **discuss Clarice's condition and housing for the Struckers. While Sonya had attempted to reach a doctor in Gainsville, chances are they would have to wait given the late hours though John insists that she keep trying, as well as find a place for Caitlin, Lauren and Andy. However, Sonya isn't so sure that welcoming the Strucker into the Underground is worth the risk as John almost got killed because of them. Furthermore, they didn't discuss bringing more people in. Which leads John to his next point of interest, Marcos' freelance job to meet with Reed without consulting anyone. Marcos explains that they help mutants in danger, and by his account, the Struckers are mutants and they all saw the dangers they faced. However, John sees through Marcos' explanation, claiming that his interest is only in Lorna. Lauren then calls them down as Clarice's condition worsens. The Long-distance leap and holding her portal open for such an extensive amount of time took a lot of energy out of her. Caitlin, being a nurse, diagnoses Clarice as being in respiratory distress and with her temperature spiking, which means she needs medical attention that only a hospital can provide. Marcos offers first-aid and painkillers in hopes that Caitlin can make do. When she starts to question whether or not she's capable of saving Clarice, Lauren steps in to offer a few words of encouragement.**_

Caitlin smiled slightly putting an arm around her daughter. She was so proud of her little girl. No matter what she was.

 _ **Clarice then begins convulsing causing her powers to become unstable. Without the right medication, she could die, Caitlin explains. As Clarice goes into shock, her powers start to uncontrollably manifest, causing her to involuntarily open a portal to stretch of road where a truck is headed straight for them. As the truck tries to avoid them, it skids out of control, resulting in the truck being sliced in half. The back half unfortunately makes it through the portal, prompting everyone to take cover.**_

"God dammit" Clarice groaned burying her face in her hands.

"Hey it's okay. You're not doing it on purpose. It happens" John said comfortingly, a hand placed on her shoulder.

Clarice looked at John and the two maintained eye contact for a while before she nodded and they looked away.

 _ **While Caitlin recovers from hitting her head, John moves Clarice to a table in the back of the room by the vault. Marcos asks Caitlin that if she said that Clarice is over-exceeding her powers, how is she able to create portals. Caitlin admits that she isn't an expert in the field. As Clarice starts convulsing again, a new portal emerges to the same road as before. Civilians with loaded rifles stand on the other side of the portal looking in. Seeing this, Marcos prepares for a fight. However, John grabs his wrist and urges him to show restraint as they aren't to hurt innocent bystanders.**_

"Why not? They don't have a problem doing it" Eric growled looking at the passed out turner who had a bandaged head and an ice pack on his face. If he wasn't so angry, he would question where they came from.

"Because we are not like them" Raven said sharply. Erik looked at the woman then looked away. No words were exchanged.

 _ **Lauren walks in front of them and manages to close the portal using her shields, thus preventing any possible altercation.**_

"Manipulating the atomic space between each atom" Hank muttered in thought. That was a very different kind of ability.

 _ **This shuts down Clarice's powers as she falls unconscious. Marcos and Caitlin then set forth a plan to raid the hospital for the medication to treat Clarice while Lauren agrees to stay behind and close any potential portals.**_

Reed and Caitlin smiled at their daughter with pride. But they were afraid. What would happen if she over exerted herself? Would she go through what Clarice was going through? They didn't voice that right now. Since the atmosphere was thick with tension.

 _ **At the Sentinel Services building, Agent Turner begins his interrogation of Reed, who explains that he's been a prosecutor for 20 years, thus he knows his families rights. It isn't illegal to be a mutant, he notes.**_

"Doesn't seem like that" Andy muttered under his breath.

 _ **Agent Turner agrees, though he does focus on crimes committed by them. Agent Turner only asks that Reed cooperate, but how could he after Sentinel Services sent**_ _ **Sentinels**_ _ **after his children? Agent Turner reminds Reed that before they released the Sentinels that the Struckers were given the opportunity to surrender peacefully, which they declined. Reed then asks for his lawyer, which Agent Turner insists is ill-advised. He claims that he is doing Reed a favor by even talking to him as there are no deals or offers on the table as of yet.**_

"There's always a deal on the table" Reed muttered looking at the unconscious Jace.

"He isn't willing to extend it then. Not yet anyways" Caitlin said patting her husbands back.

 _ **That night, Caitlin and Marcos head out for the hospital. Worried about her kids, Caitlin asks how long the mission will take. Marcos explains that Andy and Lauren aren't alone. They have John. He may be a tracker, but he is also bulletproof so Caitlin has nothing to worry about. Caitlin makes it clear that she expects Marcos to honor his deal with Reed to get their family out of the country. Marcos informs Caitlin that Reed was trying to send his girlfriend, Lorna, to prison up until recently. Caitlin defends Reed's actions, stating that he was only following the law as a prosecutor, but they have nothing against mutants. Marcos wonders if Caitlin or Reed would be standing up for mutants if it hadn't been Lauren and Andy in that gym at their school.**_

"Probably not" Reed sighed running his hand through his hair. The only reason he even was thinking on things so deeply was because of his children.

 _ **Caitlin does not reply as she ponders on Marcos' question. The next day at Lakewood County Jail, Lorna almost gets into a fight when an inmate named**_ _ **Scar**_ _ **spits on her as she is being escorted to the showers, but with guards nearby, she proceeds forward. She then makes brief eye contact with another inmate sitting in their cell, known only as**_ _ **Porcelain Mutant**_ _ **.**_

"Cute name" Raven drawled blankly.

 _ **In the showers, the prisoners stare at Lorna as she washes the black dye out her hair, revealing a full head of dark green hair. She walks out while ignoring all the glares. Back at Headquarters, John tells Andy and Lauren that Clarice is a refugee who escaped from jail. Regarding her arrest, she used a portal to steal food from the back of a supermarket. It happens a lot with mutants who can't pass for human. They can't get jobs and one thing leads to another. John is cut off as Clarice's powers being to manifest yet again to the same road.**_

"I wonder why that road" John thought to himself.

 _ **This time around, the road is filled with police officers. Fortunately, Lauren manages to close the portal, but not before John uses his super senses to overhear the officers call in the SWAT. While John heads off, Andy tells Lauren that her closing of the portals is insane.**_

"You want to fight?" Lauren looks at her brother with big eyes. Andy said nothing but the meaning was clear for all.

Eric looked over at the Strucker boy in silent contemplation.

 _ **Marcos and Caitlin arrive at**_ _ **South Region Hospital**_ _ **later that day. They look inside to the sight of the over-crowded urgent care facility. It's not much like the hospitals Caitlin is used to. And the state is even considering closing down the hospital to mutant patients. He jokes that one of their best powers is bankrupting hospitals as they are born with the ultimate pre-existing condition. Caitlin notes that the ER is secured and the drugs are inside, meaning they need an emergency in order to enter the treatment area. Luckily for them, Marcos has a bullet wound from their previous escape, so Caitlin reopens the wound. Much to her surprise, his blood is like no others she had seen before. He seems to bleed some form of solar light; he's bioluminescent. They enter the hospital, with Marcos holding onto his bullet wound that is dripping. They use this to his advantage as he convinces the front desk receptionist that he desperately needs help.**_

"Good thinking" Charles nodded with a smile.

Marcos nodded back with a smile of his own.

 _ **As Dr. Watkin stitches Marcos' wound, he asks what caused this, to which Marcos replies that he was injured while climbing a latter. Skeptical about the story, Dr. Watkin calls Caitlin into the hallway. She had claimed that she was Marcos' girlfriend. Noticing the bruises on her face, that, unbeknownst to him, was the result of Clarice's portal bringing half a truck careening into the headquarters, Dr. Watkin's immediate assumption is that because she's dating a mutant there's a domestic violence situation at hand.**_

"This is plain outrageous!" Hank growled much like the beast he is or will be called.

Charles just frowns at the screen. Humans had gotten too prejudiced against his kind.

 _ **Perhaps for the first time in her life, Caitlin begins to realize the degree to which people's casual prejudices adversely affect mutants. Although still baffled by his assumption, Caitlin reassures him that this isn't the case. She then grabs a pair of hospital scrubs. At Headquarters, John and Sonya become increasingly more concerned with Clarice and the portals that she continues to open. While Lauren has managed to keep them closed for the time being, John isn't sure how much longer she can continue to. He informs Sonya that the cops are gearing up and that the S.W.A.T team is in route. If they come through, John believes that they will have to evacuate, but Sonya argues that they should remove Clarice as evacuating the building would take far too long. However, John fears that moving her will only make matters worse. Leaving them with only one option, to hope that Marcos and Caitlin return in time with the medicine.**_

"Take the risk. You can't endanger everyone else because of what might happen to me" Clarice said stubbornly.

"It wouldn't only be bad for you though. It would be bad for us all if you suddenly open a portal in the middle of a room and a S.W.A.T van fell through" Marcos pointed out.

Clarice just sighed and continued rubbing her temples.

 _ **Agent Turner's interrogation of Reed continues. He has charged him with terrorism. He points to Lorna Dane on the monitor, more commonly known as Polaris. From what they have been able to put together, Reed used her police file to get in contact with the Mutant Underground. They had spoken with**_ _ **Carla**_ _ **, Reed's co-worker, and she told them everything. There had been talk for quite some time about classifying the Underground as a mutant terrorist group, like the**_ _ **Brotherhood**_ _ **or**_ _ **Mutant Liberation Front**_ _ **. Their lawyers wanted to make Reed and Lorna their test case though Reed objects that the Underground is nothing like the former groups mentioned.**_

"It isn't" John said in a dangerous growl. How dare they assume that they would want anything but to live in peace.

 _ **However, Agent Turner reminds Reed that he was just prosecuting Lorna a few days ago. He goes on to explain how he lost his daughter**_ _ **Grace**_ _ **during the**_ _ **7/15**_ _ **incident. She was only 7.**_

"So it's a personal vendetta" Eric mused. He might not like the man at all but he knew his reason behind he was the way he was. He still didn't like him though.

 _ **People constantly talk about the**_ _ **X-Men**_ _ **and the Brotherhood, but Agent Turner is never going to know if the blast of energy that killed his daughter came from a good mutant or a bad mutant. Nonetheless, Reed is positive that the charges he face will never stick but Turner disagrees.**_

Suddenly Jace fell face first into the floor, one of his chair legs being shattered. The rest except Eric and Raven were surprised at what had happened. They had after all seen Andy do it.

So if the kid could use his powers. But alas neither could do it. Maybe the kid was immune or whoever brought them here let him use his powers for a fraction of time.

 _ **Lorna joins Porcelain Mutant for lunch. She introduces herself but Porcelain doesn't seem interested in becoming acquainted. Nevertheless, Lorna is hoping that they can help each other. She asked about the collars, but Porcelain insists that she doesn't stand a chance of getting it off. She then grabs her tray and leaves because being in prison as a mutant is hard enough without people like Lorna making it worse. Dressed in her stolen hospital scrubs, Caitlin sneaks into the medicine cabinet to take what she needs in order to treat Clarice, but on her way out, she spots Dr. Watkin talking to two police officers.**_

"That fucker" Lorna growls dangerously.

Marcos sighed, hugging the woman with the arm he had around her.

 _ **So she regroups with Marcos and tells him that they need to leave immediately. Just when Marcos asks if Caitlin is sure that the doctor was talking to the police about them, the two officers come barging through the door.**_

"That should answer your question" Hank pointed out in a joking manner to lift the mood. A few chuckled but that was all.

 _ **With their guns drawn, they demand that Marcos and Caitlin get down. Instead, they make a run for it. Marcos and Caitlin run through the laundry room and out the backdoor. As they make their escape, Marcos welds the door shut. Lorna makes her way out onto the courtyard where Scar taunts her, referring to her as "mutie". Scar tells Lorna that mutants in the prison work for her and do what they are told, but Lorna begs to differ. Scar admits that while mutants may have powers on the outside, inside prison, she is the one with all the power. Looking at the scars all along Scar's face, Lorna concludes that she got them from a mutant. As Lorna attempts to leave, she is attacked by Scar's associates. Getting punched in the face several times, causing her nose to bleed.**_

Marcos stiffened in his seat.

 _ **Scar had learned of Lorna's pregnancy and so she decided to kick Lorna in her stomach to test how powerful the baby is.**_

"I will kill that thing" Marcos growled dangerously. Beside him Lorna and a few seats away Eric too looked murderous.

 _ **Lorna grows so angry that despite the high voltage collar around her neck, she manages to gain enough power to yank a steel table out the ground and throw it at Scar. The guards break the fight up soon thereafter. But because of her actions, Lorna is placed in solitary confinement.**_

"At least there no one could hurt you" John added. But the couple didn't seem to register his voice, making him sigh.

 _ **John, Sonya, Lauren and Andy gather around Clarice as her condition worsens. John wants to begin evacuation as Clarice continues to open portals, but Sonya again objects to the notion of abandoning the Underground. John calls out to Clarice as another portal opens but on a larger scale. Lauren attempts to close it but fails. With S.W.A.T closing in, the Underground is left with no other choice but to fend them off. As one of the officers enter the portal with his weapon drawn, John disarms him of his firearm, lifts him to the ceiling, and then tosses him back onto the other side of the portal. Just as the rest of the S.W.A.T team prepares to open fire, Andy runs out in front and in a great display of power, sends the officers flying backward into the air, as well as Clarice, who is knocked to the floor, and falls unconscious, causing the portal to close.**_

"Powerful child" Charles muttered to himself.

The same thought was going through Eric's mind.

 _ **However, after the closing of that single portal, many opened in its place within the Underground. And so John instructs Sonya, Lauren, and Andy to evacuate the building.**_

"Shit" Clarice groaned.

 _ **Elsewhere, Agent Turner makes a move that he hopes will help Reed understand everything that's at stake. Reed is making the mistake of thinking that only his wife and kids are in jeopardy when in reality, it expands far further. Agent Turner allows Reed to watch as his own mother**_ _ **Ellen Strucker**_ _ **is interviewed by Sentinel Services, more specially,**_ _ **Agent Weeks**_ _ **. They are bringing in every potential co-conspirator. Agent Weeks asks Ellen about her being in contact with Reed. He then asks about Reed's**_ _ **father**_ _ **who lives alone in Chattanooga. Reed insists that his mother has nothing to do with it, but the only way Agent Turner can be sure of this is if Reed tells him everyone that is involved. Back in the interrogation room, Ellen explains that she marched against apartheid in 1984. They were oppressing all kinds of people, not just the mutants. Agent Turner tells Reed that all he has to do to stop this is give up the whereabouts of his family.**_

Reed bit his cheeks in anger, glaring at the form of a passed out Jace who was sitting on a new chair.

"Reed" Caitlin warned but Reed had already done what he intended. He had punched the man on his broken nose.

"That was for my mother" He said and sat back down.

 _ **On their way back from the hospital, Caitlin asks if it is always that bad for mutants. Marcos reveals that what Caitlin saw was actual top quality mutant health care as the doctor at least bothered to stitch him up before calling the police. While there are civil rights acts, Marcos explains that there's always an exception for public safety. All they have to do is call a mutant dangerous and instantly, their rights vanish.**_

"Pathetic" Eric sneered.

 _ **When Caitlin asks how Marcos' family dealt with him being a mutant, he reveals that they kicked him out at 13 the first time he lit up. To survive, he had to do a lot of things he isn't proud of, and it was Lorna who saved him from that. She is more so his family than his own parents.**_

Lorna smiled slightly and cuddled into the man's side.

 _ **Upon returning to HQ, Caitlin begins to panic, but he assures her that it's a security measure by a mutant Underground member to keep unauthorized people away. However, he notes that something is wrong with it being stronger than usual. Speaking to**_ _ **Pedro**_ _ **, Marcos learns that the building was being evacuated as Clarice's portals continue to violently open and close everywhere in and around HQ. Marcos and Caitlin arrive to find Andy and Lauren assisting with evacuation. After a brief family reunion, Marcos stays back with the kids as Caitlin heads inside to tend to Clarice and hopefully stop the destruction of Headquarters. Caitlin enters to find the building in complete chaos. She jumps through one of the portals, transporting her to John and Clarice's exact location.**_

"Convenient" Caitlin muttered with a chuckle.

 _ **Caitlin then injects Clarice with the medication they had stolen from the hospital to stabilize her potassium levels. Fortunately, it seems all of their efforts have paid off as the portals desist and the Underground is left intact. Clarice wakes up later that night to find the Underground in disarray. She asks if everyone is okay. John informs her that she destroyed some of the furniture, but everyone was safe. And so she jokes about HQ needing a remodeling anyways. John then asks about the road that Clarice kept portaling to. He questions if it holds any significance to her, but Clarice claims that she doesn't remember.**_

"Does it?" John asked.

Clarice just shrugged. She didn't want to share information with people she barely knew.

 _ **Meanwhile, Caitlin expresses how proud she is of Andy and Lauren. As for Reed, Caitlin is determined to find him at all costs, however, Andy isn't so sure they will. Caitlin looks around before telling them that it is their turn to fight the same fight that many have been fighting for a long time. Back at the Sentinel Services building, Agent Turner asks if Reed is ready to talk, but it seems that he isn't, even in spite of putting his mother through an interrogation. Reed had been thinking about it and he has come to the conclusion that he isn't the one in for a world of hurt. He had sat on Agent Turner's side of the table. So, if Turner truly was going to throw him in jail, he would've done it already. Between coming in with charges and dragging his mother in, Reed has come to the conclusion that Agent Turner overplayed his hand. He had a bad day, lost millions of dollars worth of equipment and allowed 6 mutants to slip through his fingers. Reed's been in his shoes enough to know that he's desperate. So Reed turns the tables on Turner. He agrees to make a deal, but only on his terms, meaning that his mother, wife, children and anyone else they had brought in gets to go free. Agent Turner reluctantly agrees so long as he gets the Mutant Underground.**_

"That would work in our favor" John muttered.

"If he were to let anyone they brought in out for free then the underground could be rebuilt" Marcos nodded and gave Reed a thankful nod which was returned.

"See. Not all of them are bad" Charles muttered to Eric who still had an impassive expression.

 _ **At an unknown location, in an unmarked lab,**_ _ **Dr. Roderick Campbell**_ _ **orders one of his associates to look up everything they had on mutant siblings. There was a incident in Rio during the 1960s. They pull up an article from May 21, 1962 that captures the terror and destruction caused by a brother-sister mutant team. Dr. Campbell then asks if Andy and Lauren has been found yet. When Joshua informs him that Sentinel Services is still looking, he asks for the head agent on the case i.e. Agent Turner.**_

Otto went stiff in shock and horror. He had a clear idea what this doctor had in mind for his grandchildren.

Before the next episode could begin, Lorna had walked up to Eric. "We need to talk" she said and started walking again, Eric following her with a confused expression to the door that had just appeared. As soon as the door had closed, Jace Turner slowly came back into consciousness, feel more hurt than he did before passing out.


	4. 3

As the doors shut behind the duo Lorna turned to Eric and just looked at him. "Everything alright?" he asked slowly when things were getting a bit too weird.

"You're my father?" she asked in an even voice. But even in it Eric could feel the hint of hopefulness.

"I don't know. I mean I think I am. We have the same powers you and I" Eric said with a small nod.

Lorna nodded back before giving him a hug. Eric caught by surprise stiffened at first before hugging her back. "I always wanted to know who you were" she mumbled.

"You still don't know who I am" Eric pointed out and for that got a light slap on the shoulder and a smile. The two share a moment of comfortable silence before they return back to their seats.

 _ **Three years ago, just outside of**_ _ **Headquarters**_ _ **,**_ _ **Lorna**_ _ **tells**_ _ **Marcos**_ _ **that the station was condemned after the Oakwood riots when the National Guard stormed a nearby**_ _ **mutant**_ _ **orphanage that caused one of the young mutants to lose control and destroy the entire area. No one knew what he did exactly, so they stayed away, thus providing the**_ _ **Underground**_ _ **with the perfect hideout.**_

Eric grunted in displeasure. This viewing was making him more and more agitated and hateful towards humanity.

 _ **Marcos reveals that he feels as if he's being punished by being a mutant, perhaps a sin from his past life that he's now answering for by being forced to live under constant persecution. Lorna explains that she wouldn't change who she is or what she could do for anything.**_

"Yeah preach!" Clarice shouted with a grin.

"It just means she supports my views" Lorna explained to the confused looking mutants and human alike.

 _ **She then asks Marcos what was the first recreational thing he did with his powers. Marcos explains that he was on the streets of Bogotá, sleeping in a cardboard box. He didn't have much time for fun. So, when he refuses to answer Lorna's question, she reveals to him the reason behind why she wears steel-toe boots and metal bracelets. When she was 16, her abilities manifested and she discovered that she could use her control over magnetism to levitate herself while wearing metal.**_

"You wouldn't need jet packs then!" Andy said with a grin. It was after all every kid's dream to own a jet pack at that age.

Lorna just smiled at the boy. "When we get out of here I'll make you fly" she said and Andy's grin got bigger.

 _ **Marcos concedes and answers Lorna question by grabbing shards of broken glass off the ground and shinning light through it to project a pattern. As their hands touch, they create a small**_ _ **aurora borealis**_ _ **, which grows as the two proceed to kiss.**_

"So beautiful" Raven and Hank muttered together before looking at each other with a smile.

"Did not have to see the last part" Eric muttered shifting in his chair. Charles had a laugh watching his friend.

 _ **Present day, Lorna sits alone in her cell at the Fulton County Jail until being joined by**_ _ **Agent Turner**_ _ **of**_ _ **Sentinel Services**_ _ **. He tells her that he is not far off from taking down the Underground, starting with Marcos, who goes by the street name of Eclipse.**_

"Why eclipse? You shoot solar bean from your arms. You should have gone for something like Solar Flare or Solar Burst. Or just Flare or Burst" Andy said in an excited tone.

Marcos blinked a few times before chuckling. "Those are good names. Maybe I'll change mine" he mused making Andy smile wider.

Reed and Caitlin shared a smile. It was nice to see their son smile like that again. Lauren too felt the same way seeing her brother.

 _ **Turner came to give Lorna one last chance to cooperate. Should she, he will arrange visitation for her and Marcos. At least while in prison, they would be able to create some kind of family. On the other hand, should Lorna refuse to give her cooperation, she will end up some place much worse. Either she will give him what he wants at the jail or she'll give him what he wants there. He gives Lorna some time to think about it. Should they bust the Underground without her, she'll lose any deal being offered.**_

"Because the underground is easy to find" John snorted in humor. Who does this guy think he is?

"And if you touch her in any harmful way" Eric let the threat hang.

He did not show it but Jace was scared now. The man had physically taken his down with relative ease. Only god knows what he would do with his powers.

 _ **Meanwhile at the station,**_ _ **John**_ _ **attempts to defuse Marcos who is dead set on breaking into jail and rescuing Lorna. Also in the room is**_ _ **Caitlin**_ _ **,**_ _ **Sonya**_ _ **,**_ _ **Sage**_ _ **and**_ _ **Shatter**_ _ **. John reminds Marcos that the prison he wants to break into is armed with 20 foot walls and guards, ready to shoot-to-kill.**_

"It would be terribly stupid to just charge in" Hank nodded his head.

 _ **However, Marcos counters that**_ _ **Clarice**_ _ **can get them past security. Unfortunately for Marcos, John and Caitlin are in agreement that Clarice's powers are too unstable. Which is why Marcos suggests that John train her as he did for some of the other mutants in the Underground.**_

"That sounds like a plan" Lorna muses.

"But that would take a lot of time" John groaned.

"We have to do something" Marcos bites his lips.

"The leadership there is strong" Charles whispered to Eric who nodded. He was proud to see three mutants, especial his daughter, putting their heads together to think on a common problem and not just counter a plan.

 _ **Sonya reminds John that Clarice freed herself from jail, suggesting she may be possible of accomplishing what Marcos' plan calls for. John reluctantly agrees though Caitlin isn't backing down. She reminds them all that they still have laws to abide by. She recommends calling a lawyer as some members of congress are sympathetic to mutants, but John claims that she may be overestimating their sympathy.**_

"More than half of those guys just put on a face at best. They wouldn't lift a finger to help" Lorna said in almost a bored tone.

"There has to be. Not everyone can be that bad" Charles argued. The downcast faces from the mutants was all the answer he needed.

 _ **Caitlin has connections. She can reach out, but contact with the outside world is disallowed. They can't risk the exposure with Sentinel Services on the look-out. Much better odds, they will get turned on, which is a risk that Marcos and John refuse to take. In the sleeping quarters,**_ _ **Andy**_ _ **and**_ _ **Lauren**_ _ **set aside board games to pass the time. This leads to an argument as Andy wishes to be the shoe board piece, which Lauren refuses to allow. She reminds him that their dad used to always be the shoe, and so Andy backs down. Unbeknownst to either of them, Caitlin is listening from outside the doorway.**_

"Cait" Reed said gently. He knew his wife well enough to know that she would do something. Caitlin didn't meet his eyes so he knew she also knew that she would do something.

 _ **John approaches Clarice in hopes that she'll agree to break Lorna out of jail. While Clarice is willing to help in any way she can as she owes Lorna for saving her, transporting them all into the prison isn't one of ways she can be of assistance. Since her episode, where she nearly tore down the station, she's been unable to create portals. Something changed after she got sick, such as the strange, purple dagger-shaped mark that appeared under her right eye.**_

"A mental block?" Hank inquired.

"Probably her mind not letting her dive in just yet. To let her recover" Charles theorized.

 _ **Not mention her powers which as she put it, are broken. John informs her that abilities don't break. Most mutants first access their abilities from strong emotions like fear, anger and pain. But those are all unreliable. The challenge is to tap into something positive.**_

"This should be interesting" Raven mused. Judging from what she has seen till now, the girl doesn't seem to have that many happy moments.

 _ **As John returns from his conversation with Clarice, Sonya wonders if she has agreed to help free Lorna. Unfortunately, she can't. At the very least, it will take some time before she can. Clarice's power has always been fueled by fear. She needs to find something she cares enough about to get pass it. But, Lorna didn't have that kind of time. Sonya offers her "help". As she say this, pink smoke flows from her mouth. Apparently, Sonya possesses the ability of memory manipulation.**_

"Interesting ability" Eric leaned forward.

"Keep her away from me" Clarice muttered in disgust. The things she could do to her was just plain scary.

 _ **She wants to give Clarice a memory that'll make her think Lorna is her best friend, thus providing incentive. However, planting false memories in peoples' heads always go bad, John states, case in point, Walker and Eve. Late that night, whilst everyone else slept, Caitlin wakes up Andy and Lauren to inform them that she is leaving the station and going to their**_ _ **uncle Danny**_ _ **'s house to see if he can help find Reed.**_

"We haven't seen him since grandma's funeral. Why do you think he'll help?" Lauren asked.

"He's your uncle. He's family" Caitlin defended.

"Just because he is family doesn't mean he'll help" Marcos added. He knew first hand after all.

Caitlin still stubbornly held on to her view that her brother would help. It was her brother after all.

 _ **However, as Lauren points out, they haven't seen him since their grandmother's funeral. Nonetheless, there is no way Andy and Lauren are allowing her to leave alone. If Sentinel Services showed up, she'll need someone to protect her, and so they'll be there to ensure her safety. They had already lost their father. They aren't willing to lose their mother as well, refusing to take no for an answer. With that being said, Caitlin brings them along.**_

Now Caitlin felt an overwhelming weight of guilt. She was dragging her kids along. The services were after them and she was taking them out in the open.

 _ **At the Sentinel Services building, Reed and Agent Turner retrace his steps leading up to his capture. They pick up at Reed and Marcos meeting at**_ _ **Tex's Lounge**_ _ **to broker a deal to move his family to Mexico. Reed recalls Marcos being familiar with the bartender,**_ _ **Fade**_ _ **, making him the contact to the Underground.**_

"You just doomed a completely innocent man" Marcos said in frustration.

"That's all the option I had!" Reed argued.

"No you could have let out a false trail. Make up a mutant. Not get him killed or worse" Lorna seethed in anger.

Reed flinched slightly and looked away. He still thought he was doing the right thing.

 _ **With that, Agent Turners tells**_ _ **Agent Weeks**_ _ **to get a recon team out by the bar. Agent Turner then explains that they're going to put out a fake**_ _ **APB**_ _ **for Reed, saying that he managed to escape capture. Assuming the bar is connected to the Underground, they'll hear about it. Should Reed not be able to make contact, Agent Turner tells him to get them to take him to his family. Sentinel Services will then pick up Marcos Diaz and roll-up their entire operation. As for the Underground, they're classified as a terrorist organization. So they'll be dealt with accordingly.**_

The mutants all groaned in frustration. This was not going to be good. Jace though was looking at Reed with a smile. Finally someone who saw sense.

 _ **John and Clarice take a walk around the compound as they discuss her lack of control over her powers. Clarice had given John's advice some thought, but her ability, when it comes down to it, is the power to bail out of dangerous situations. So being scared is just a big part of it. However, John refuses to believes that fear is all of it. In the marines, when you want to give up, they train you to focus on what you care about most, to hold on to it as if your life depended on it, because at some point it will. Back then, John had a lot to prove in regards to him being Apache and a mutant.**_

"oooh that's tough" Hank sympathized with the man.

 _ **Clarice claims that she doesn't have anything personal to hold onto as he did. So, John wants her to think about something she loves, however, the best Clarice can come up with at the time is a warm jelly doughnut. John instructs her to relax, breathe, and picture the thing she wants most, and go to it. Clarice follows John's instructions precisely, causing a portal to emerge though she fails to maintain it. As he is telling her not to focus on the fear, John's foresight and tracking abilities kick in, allowing him to see a glimpse of the past. He can see Caitlin leaving the Underground in the middle of the night with Andy and Lauren.**_

"You can see the past!?" Andy's jaws dropped.

"Just small snippets. It's the foresight of mine. It picks on things that is vital for me" John explained with a chuckle. The kid and his curiosity was precious.

 _ **John returns to the station to inform Marcos of the Struckers' ill-advised departure. They left last night without taking much with them. Caitlin believes that she can help, that whatever connection she has can make a difference in getting Reed back. She spent her whole life in believing in the system. Some people have to learn the hard way, John concludes as Marcos tells him that he had already spoken to Caitlin about the way the prejudice mutants face. Nevertheless, they have to go after them, which is unfortunate given that Lorna could disappear into a federal hellhole at any moment. However, should the Struckers get arrested, they could lead the authorities right back to the Underground, compromising their entire operation.**_

"Oh don't look at us like that! It's a legit threat!" Lorna complained.

The Strucker parents from the present looked away. It was a good fear to have. They might not spill it but if it meant saving their family, they both knew who would come first. Reed was already on that path.

 _ **The Struckers have successfully made it out to downtown Atlanta though not with out risk as**_ _ **Atlanta PD**_ _ **patrols the area. Andy and Lauren remind their mother that their uncle Danny lives across town and that the only way they'll make it without capture is to find a ride. However, their bank accounts are frozen and would never make it to Buckhead. Andy suggests that they rob the bank but Caitlin and Lauren rejects his plan as it is both dangerous and illegal. Lauren hopes to someday return their lives to a sense of normalcy, but as Andy explains, their lives will never return to what it once was.**_

"Kid's right. As mutants this is the normal now" John informs then making Lauren frown.

 _ **Instead of robbing a bank, Andy uses his abilities to rip open nearby parking meters, providing them with the needed change for cab fare.**_

"Technically that is still stealing" Clarice pointed out.

"EH" Andy shrugged then cringed from the gentle slap on the head from his mother.

 _ **Sonya joins Clarice in the lobby of the station as she struggles to control her powers. Clarice feels herself getting closer to forming a portal, but each time she loses it. Sonya reminds her that Lorna is counting on them, and as her best friend, Sonya would like nothing more than to save her. Clarice informs Sonya that John told her to focus on something meaningful to her in order to properly harness her abilities, however, Clarice has no one. Not even a boyfriend. So she tells Sonya to tell her boyfriend that his plan isn't going to work. Sonya wonders what caused Clarice to believe that she and John are together. Clarice explains that she came to this conclusion after noticing the way Sonya looks when she talks about him and how she's the only one that calls him "Johnny". Sonya reveals that she came to the Underground as a refugee. When she decided to stay on and help, they agreed that if they were going to work together, they shouldn't be together. As for Clarice's powers, Sonya urges her to follow John's instructions.**_

"That's a shit reason" Marcos deadpanned.

"I mean look if you want you can. It doesn't change anything. This isn't the military John" Lorna said gently, rubbing the man's shoulder.

John just sighed and shook his head.

 _ **Caitlin arrives at her brother Danny's house with Andy and Lauren. He embraces her and invites them all in though not before telling them that they were in a lot of trouble as the police had come by his house looking for them. Inside, Danny tells Caitlin that his wife Mary is out of town on a sales conference. Danny's son and Andy and Lauren's cousin**_ _ **Scott**_ _ **asks if they had to fight off the police. They didn't. But Andy did however destroy a few**_ _ **Sentinel**_ _ **robots much to Scott's amusement. Scott seems to take great interest in Andy and Lauren's recent adventures as he then asks where they've been living. Lauren tells him about the Underground and how they helped them.**_

"Oh my god!" Marcos groaned out loud.

"You can't just give out vital information like that" Lorna added testily.

"They already knew that much!" Lauren defended herself.

 _ **After sending the kids away to play games, Danny tells Caitlin that she never should've come to the house, but Caitlin needs to find Reed and she has nowhere else to go. Danny knows members of Congress. So Caitlin is hoping that he can uses his connections to find Reed. However, it isn't that simple even with working on**_ _ **Senator Montez**_ _ **'s campaign. Danny can't just call him up to ask that he pull some strings for what he considers to be outlaws. Caitlin begins to cry as she recalls their mother getting sick. When that happened, she left Danny alone as she knew that he didn't like seeing their mom like that. Caitlin never asked for help, but now she is. However, Danny tells her that he has to consider his family, in regards to his wife and son, but as Caitlin reminds him, she, Andy, Lauren and Reed are his family as well. Nevertheless, Danny can't risk them being at his home. They can stay the night and take all the money he has in his safe, but in the morning, Danny wants Caitlin and the kids out.**_

"Told you" Lorna said with a huff.

"Not the time" Reed muttered as he comforted his wife.

"I thought he would help" she muttered in a broken voice. "He's just looking out for his family Cait" Reed said comfortingly. It didn't help much.

 _ **Sentinel Services Headquarters has sent out the APB notice. As of an hour ago, Reed Strucker is the subject of a multi-agency manhunt. With any luck, their target will have heard about it. Reed simply needed to convince them to take him to the Underground. Meanwhile, Agent Turner and Agent Weeks would track him with an ankle monitor. It's thin enough to the point where it won't be felt if Reed is subject to a pat-down and it also won't come off unless Turner unlocks it. Having already hacked the nearby surveillance cameras, they watch as Fade exits the backdoor of the bar to dump the trash, providing them with the perfect opportunity to send Reed out. Before doing so, Agent Turner reminds him that his family is depending on him.**_

"Under handed threat. Pathetic" Raven muttered with a shake of her head.

 _ **Reed approaches Fade to tell him that he was at the bar a few days ago with Marcos in talks about moving his family out of the country. But they ran into Sentinel Services and got separated. Fade remembers Reed. But he also knows that the F.B.I and Sentinel Services are looking for him. Fade turns invisible and then reappears with a gun in hand, pointed at Reed, who claims that he just wants to find his family. When Fade demands that he leave, Reed tells him that he was a prosecutor and that's why he and Marcos were talking in the bar. Reed knows about the investigation into the network. He also tries to use his relationship with the police and the federal agencies to sway Fade into trusting him. Reed guarantees that he can offer valuable information. He simply wants to find his family first. And so Fade reluctantly agrees to help. Inside the bar, Fade questions how Reed got away from Sentinel Services in the first place. Reed tells him about a supposed crawl space he found inside a warehouse where he hid until they gave up the search.**_

"He took that" Marcos muttered in shock.

"He's just used to lying to mutants" Lorna said unapologetically, leaning back into her chair making Reed flinch at her words.

 _ **Fade takes Reed into the backroom where he introduces him to**_ _ **Sheila**_ _ **and**_ _ **Dominique**_ _ **. They would also be taken to the station. Fade explains that he takes them to the drop-point and someone from HQ picks them up to drive them the rest of the way. Sheila and Dominique were alone after they took her husband who is also a mutant to the Sentinel Services detention center.**_

"Detention centers" Eric muttered in disgust. "It's Hitler all over again" he sneered. The good agent flinched at the sneer sent his way.

 _ **They tried to take Sheila and Dominique as well but they escaped. Reed is surprised that they would be after a small child like Dominique but Sheila informs him that they only saw her as a future threat as she possesses the X-Gene. Noticing he is in pain from his encounter with the Sentinel Services where they shot him with an immobilization round, Shelia uses her powers to remove his pain, to which he thanks her for after. Back at Danny's house, Andy and Scott play video games while Lauren scrolls through her social media. Scott nicknames Andy "De-Struckto" and asks him about his abilities.**_

"That's actually a good name" Andy thought.

 _ **Curious about what he can do, Scott begs Andy to destroy his little league trophy but Andy has yet to learn to control his abilities. While on Instagram, Lauren sees that their**_ _ **house**_ _ **has been vandalized. She shares this with Andy who grows so angry that he destroys Scott's trophy with little to no effort. Caitlin then enters the room to ensure that everyone is alright. Lauren covers for them, claiming that Andy and Scott were simply rough housing. When Andy asks if Danny is going to help them, Caitlin lies and says that they're working on it. In the surveillance van, Agent Turner messages a woman, presumably his girlfriend or wife, named**_ _ **Paula**_ _ **. He tells her that he loves her and that he'll be home late.**_

"Careful now agent. You might just lose the last family you have" Raven said sweetly.

"If you touch her I swear to god" Jace began with a growl.

"You can do nothing" Raven said coldly. "And I don't need to do a single thing. You're doing it all on your own" she smirked as the agent glared at her.

 _ **Afterward, Agent Weeks, who is observing the monitor, tells him that Reed, Fade, Shelia and Dominique are on the move. Turner then alerts backup of their position. Reeds appears to be experiencing guilt as he observes Sentinel Services tailing them. Dominique grabs Reed's hand and tells him that everything is going to be okay as they will soon be at the Underground's HQ. Shelia confirms this. Telling Dominique that the worst part is over and that they are with friends now, looking to Reed as one of those friends. Realizing that he's made a terrible mistake, Reed tells Fade to stop the van because he set them up. Fade is enraged, but refuses to stop the van as they would be captured. Reed apologizes for his betrayal and jumps out of the moving van in order to prevent them from being tracked.**_

"A crazy but appreciated stunt" Lorna nodded.

 _ **Fade then cloaks the van and proceeds to the drop-point. Agent Turner is outraged. He scolds Reed for going back on their deal.**_

"It was no deal. You were going to take his children away anyways" Charles stated in a matter of factly. He too was getting angry at the injustice.

Jace said nothing but he did shift slightly in his seat.

 _ **Meanwhile, at the Fulton County Jail, Lorna attempts to escape her cell. Despite the**_ _ **high voltage collar**_ _ **around her neck emitting shock waves, Lorna uses her ability to rip the door open. She does so successfully though not without difficulty. Lorna falls to the ground in pain as blood runs from her nose. She barely makes it out the door of her cell before collapsing.**_

"Don't strain yourself like that" Marcos said gently. Lorna just nodded and leaned into him.

Eric too wanted to scold his daughter for such a thing. But with the kind of emotional mess he was, he wasn't sure what he would have said.

 _ **The next day, Thunderbird and Eclipse track Caitlin, Andy and Lauren to Danny's house. They break in and wake Caitlin from her sleep. Imagine their surprise when she pulls a kitchen knife from under her pillow from being startled.**_

"Such a horror movie move" Lauren muttered.

 _ **Thunderbird and Eclipse tells her that she and the kids are in danger and that they need to leave immediately. However, Caitlin is dead set on staying and finding Reed. Danny then comes out his room to find Thunderbird and Eclipse in his living room. Unfortunately, their troubles don't end there. Eclipse looks out the window to find that a mob has formed on the front lawn and is surrounding the house. When they demand that Danny come out to talk, he asks Caitlin who else knew they were coming to his house. Caitlin insists that she told no one. Scott admits that the mob forming out front is due to him texting a picture of the trophy Andy tore apart to one of his friends.**_

"Dammit!" John growled stomping his foot in frustration.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen" Andy muttered looking down.

"It's okay kid. But you do see now. How the humans turn on you even if you are related" Lorna points out ad Andy nods his head slightly.

 _ **Thunderbird could get them through a wall, but if the mob began shooting while they ran, there would be a fight. Andy questions why they should have to run when they could easily take them. Thunderbird explains that if that happens, people will die which Andy doesn't seem to have any quarrels with. He thinks it's time that people learn to stop coming after them.**_

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment kid, but I think death isn't the answer here" Hank said with a chuckle.

"Why not? It would send a message!" Andy argued, much to the shock of his family.

"Well that would put us in the same level as humans. We don't want that" Raven said simply.

Andy frowned and sank into his seat. He really didn't want to kill. But he also wanted people to stop chasing them.

 _ **The man leading the mob is**_ _ **Chuck Sanders**_ _ **. Caitlin was on the swim team with him. They even went to the same Church. She thinks she can use their past to reason with him, but Danny isn't so sure. Caitlin still seems to misunderstand the prejudice that mutants face and how it can bring out the worst in others. Danny goes outside to calm the mob, but they demand that Caitlin and the kids be sent out. Chuck claims that he is simply trying to protect the community, but Danny knows all about the $300,000 reward. When Danny fails to convince them that no one is in the house except for Scott, Chuck hits him in the head with the gun. As they proceed forward, Andy completely obliterates the door and sends Chuck and the mob flying back. As Chuck picks up his gun to fire back, Thunderbird pulls Andy to safety while Eclipse projects powerful rays of light from his hands to deter the mob. Thunderbird, Eclipse, Andy, Lauren and Caitlin then get into the truck and leave.**_

"See" Lorna pointed out again and that made Caitlin feel even worse. All her family, friends. All of them were against her now.

 _ **However, their encounter with the mob doesn't end there. As they race back to Headquarters, Chuck and his "local mutant welcoming crew" follow them, firing several shots at the truck. Thunderbird calls Sonya for backup as they are nearing HQ. John tells her that he needs a way out of the situation that doesn't leave anyone dead. Sonya tells Thunderbird to come back to Headquarters, and by then, she will have a plan. Realizing that Clarice is the only one who can save them by bringing the entire car off the road with a portal, Sonya approaches her to ask for help. Clarice insists that she can't as she is still unable to create a portal. With Thunderbird running out of time, Sonya exhales a pink cloud of smoke into Clarice's face which implants an intense romantic memory of her and John. They kiss in a tender embrace in the rain, thus providing Clarice with someone to care about and the means to create a portal.**_

"Remind me to not be near her. Ever again" Clarice mumbled looking slightly green.

John too was feeling the green on his face.

 _ **Back on the road, as the gunfire continues, Andy asks Lauren to shield the bullets, but as she explains, she can't shield what she can't see. So Caitlin instructs them both to keep their heads down. Dreamer and Blink run out onto the road as Thunderbird, Eclipse, Andy, Lauren and Caitlin approach in the SUV. Dreamer instructs Blink to remember who she is doing it for and to get them all back to Headquarters. Blink stands in the middle of the road, opening a large portal as their friends approach in the vehicle. After the SUV passes through the portal, Dreamer and Blink follow closely behind.**_

"As much as I appreciate my powers working again, please don't touch my memories. Ever" Clarice groaned.

"Noted" John muttered with a sigh.

 _ **Thunderbird hops out the SUV while Eclipse takes the Struckers inside. Caitlin admits that he was right and she apologizes for taking off. Eclipse accepts her apology. She did something stupid for someone she loves. He can't say that he hasn't done the same. Meanwhile, Blink immediately embraces Thunderbird as he walks towards her. Blink's sudden show of affection strikes Thunderbird as odd.**_

"That face" Marcos and Lorna burst out laughing.

"Not funny" John muttered rubbing his face.

Clarice meanwhile sank into her clothes in embarrassment.

 _ **So He tells her that everyone is fine and that she should go inside, where he would meet up with her. Realizing that something is not right, Thunderbird looks to Dreamer, asking what she has done. Dreamer explains that with Blink needing something to connect to, she was given a memory. To make matters worse, Dreamer gave Blink a memory of herself and Thunderbird together. Thunderbird is furious, as he doesn't believe that she fully understands the consequences of her actions. At the Sentinel Services building, Agent Turner gets a call from Dr.**_ _ **Roderick Campbell**_ _ **, who understands that he had a bit of a setback last night. Agent Turner explains that it happens, but they are moving two prisoners to a detainment facility. There, they will get what they need. Dr. Campbell reveals that he's calling because he's quite interested in the case, in particular, Andy and Lauren Strucker. He is aware that Turner's team already uses some of their resources. So he would like to propose a partnership of sorts. Should Agent Turner allow him access to his suspects, he'll provide Agent Turner with everything he needs. However, Turner declines his offer as they don't hand their suspects over to contractors.**_

"Well look at that. Good agent here isn't as bad as we thought" Raven said in sake shock.

"I almost feel bad for hitting him now. Almost" Eric said with a snort.

Jace gritted his teeth in anger. The mutants here think he was some sort of joke.

 _ **The next day, Thunderbird and Eclipse drive Caitlin out to meet with her brother Danny. Caitlin apologizes for being her drama to his home, but he admits that he is the one that should be apologizing for turning her away. For that, he is sorry. He then tells her that he and Mary bought a cabin in the Smokies and that she and the kids can hide out there. As for Reed, Danny had made some calls and discovered that Reed is in fact alive. Sentinel Services is taking him to a top-secret mutant detention facility along with Lorna. Danny tells Caitlin to face the fact that she's never going to see Reed again, but she refuses to accept that as the truth. She tells Danny that she loves him and gives him a hug goodbye before rejoining Eclipse and Thunderbird.**_

"He did help" Caitlin said with a shaky smile. "That he did" Reed smiled before looking at Lorna who had a pensive look on her face.


End file.
